Interstate Lighting Maintenance From The Cloud

Item #: 20230002

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STATUS

APPLIES TO

PROBLEM

UDOT is responsible for maintaining interstate lighting statewide to improve visibility and safety for travelers. With limited manpower to maintain all lighting, 

It’s been difficult to perform maintenance proactively on such a large system. Typically, UDOT electricians would  rely on other staff or citizens to report issues, particularly for remote areas of the interstate system. This method is not always accurate. Descriptions of issues are often far worse than actual findings, but trips still must be made to find and fix problems. It is expensive and time consuming traveling to St. George and finding that only one or two lights have malfunctioned.

CHANGE

Since early 2020, the team has used a current monitoring system called Elecsys. The system monitors the electrical load at each power source where they are installed and gives instant reporting to a cloud-based interface that electricians can access from their digital device. These monitors are typically installed at new or upgraded lighting systems where the loads are initially optimal and typical so any changes reported on the interface can be flagged, and in many cases, problems can be diagnosed remotely. (See screen grab of the Elecsys interface below.) The system has a real-time map and a dashboard to help identify problems.

RESULT

There are many advantages to this system. One is more accurate reporting of issues so electricians can determine if a special trip is needed or if they can trip-chain to a whole area when enough issues demand a more deliberate maintenance trip. This system can also turn lighting on and off from a cell phone interface while troubleshooting at the opposite side of a long interstate from the power source. This allows electricians to check their work without having to drive to the next turnaround to return to the power source, which is much safer. While still not a proactive approach, since that would require more staffing than is currently available, the electricians have become much more efficient at scheduling maintenance needs.

For scale, each Elecsys device will cover an interstate interchange for about $3,500, including a three-year cellular connection that can be renewed, if needed. That replaces costs for unnecessary trips requiring equipment, lodging, per diem, and time. Some locations that do not raise any flags may not need a visit for over a year, in contrast to many trips for a single light out, flickering, or "day burning" that could wait for multiple real-time events requiring larger scale/area attention.

IMPACT

BETTER MOBILITY

GOOD HEALTH

CONNECTED COMMUNITIES

STRONG ECONOMY